Williams

In the excerpts selected from "An Unspoken Hunger," Terry Tempest Williams employs a number of different rhetorical and expressive strategies in order to engage the reader. In the piece on Yellowstone, Williams' repetition of verbs and short phrases emphasizes the constant activity and change occuring in nature, particularly in Yellowstone, and enables the reader to visualize the park as a dynamic, living force - it brings the area to life in the very first paragraph. By repeating in consecutive paragraphs on page 84 that the Yellowstone Ecosystem/ Echo System is "Pansexual," and listing all the natural entities that are loved by this landscape, Williams personifies the relationship between the landscape and its occupants, as well as between the people who come into contact with it. She demonstrates to the reader the importance of engaging in a loving relationship with the land, and the vocabulary that she employs reinforces this point, using words like "passion," "love," "sensual," and "erotic." Overall the effect is one that brings the landscape to life and makes the reader realize that a closer relationship with nature is possible.
Conversely, in "Redemption," the tone is darker, more violent. Images of crucifixion, tearing and cutting, and the "ragged" edges of the hide illustrate the less loving side of humans' relationship with nature. In such a short passage, the theme of religion dominates, with references to prayer, sacredness, and crucifixion; the reader can see the effects of the warring religions of man and nature.
"Winter Solstice at the Moab Slough" is also imbued with references to religion and spirituality, relationships, love and renewal. Essentially, Williams uses these themes to illustrate to the reader that it is important to form loving relationships with the landscape as a path to renewal for both man and nature. Religious images reinforce the idea of forming a "connection" to the land and having faith in its ability to nourish and love mankind in return.